Process of making an explosive shell



Patented Dec. 12, 1922. l,t38,399

UNITED SETfia'l lZS CHARLES W. PORTER, OF BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA.

PROCESS OFMAKING AN EXPLOSI'VE SHELL. t

No Drawing. Application filed October 16, 1920. Serial No. 417,463.

To all whomit may concern: experiments using inert gases such as car- Be it known that 1, CHARLES WV. Ponrnn, bon dioxide and nitrogen instead of air. a citizen of the United States, and a resi- The experiments inoicate first, that blasting" dent of Berkeley, county of Alameda, and gelatin explodes it suddenly compressed With 50 State of California; have invented a new air but is stable under the same compression and useful Process of Making an Explosive with nitrogen or with carbon dioxide.

Shell of which the followin is a s ecifica- My explosive therefore com a nitroa: 1 i 1 tion. giycerine product in which an inert gas My invention relates to a method of pretakes the place of the air usually incor-- 55 paring blasting gelatin or other nitroglycerporated in the mass. For convenience in ine products for use in shells, and has for use. I charge my explosive into a cartridge. its object the prevention of premature exshell or other container and T accomplish plosions. the exclusion of the air from the container It is known that shells loaded with nitroby forcing a gas such as carbon dioxide, 60 glycerine products such as blasting gelatin, nitrogen. argon, or helium into the congiant powder and corditeoften explode teiner before introducing the explosive mawhile being lowered into place; such exploterial. sions usually occurring in deep Wells coir These inert gases are available commen taining Water. In most instances these cial products. They are generally stored 65 spontaneous explosions have occurred after and transported under pressure in steel the shells Were at depths more than 10 30 cylindersv convey the gas from such feet below the Water level. In dry wells source by means oi glass, rubber or metal such explosions occur only when the shells tubing: to the shell or car ridge and allow reach regions of high temperature. the to flow into said shell or cartridge 70 As ordinarily prepared the shell consists until the air originally present has been of a tube from three to eight inches in diforced out and displaced by the inert gas ameter and from three to twenty feet long thus introduced. Blasting gelatin or any The tube is filled by pressing; into it a plasother nitroglycerine product then forced tic preparation known as blasting gelatiiu into the shell or cartroige in the usual Way. 75 comprising nitroglycerine and other sub- Tie interstices of the including); the

stances such as nitrocellulose, Wood pulp and spaces between the separate portions inorganic salts. In the preparation of the gelatine introduced into the shell are thus shell, no attempt is made to exclude air and. filled with an inert instead of air.

more or less of it is incorporated Within the I claim: so

mass of the explosive mixture. an explosive I concelved the idea that premature e2; fillin the shell plosions might be due to the presence of an; introcuicing the which at high temperature, or under high explosive.

pressure, causes spontaneous combustion of T2. The n95 an explosive 8 the explosive material thereby producing. shell which comprises in .1 filling the shell locally, sufficient beat to detonate the mass. with carbon dioxide and then introducinu Accordingly I planned and carried out a a nitro-glyceriuo product. number of experiments with blasting gela- In testimony whereof I have hereunto tin a nitroglycerine product, mixed with set my hand. air under various pressures ranging from one to sixty atmospheres, and repeated the CHARLES W. PORTER. 

